When Two Worlds Collide
by GCFan
Summary: Times are hard in the American Sohma family. They lost a member of their zodiac. So, to try and help them cope, the head of their branch moves them to Japan to have them meet the original zodiac. When love surrounds them will it all work out?
1. The Journey

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

**A.N.// Okay, I'm going to try this story again. I was going threw some old filing that I had (odd, I know) and I found the beginning of the first chapter of my old version of this story. I decided to give it another go and rewrite it. I'll try and put a new spin but then again, you know how the ideas flow so poorly in my brain. Italics are memories or stated otherwise.**

**Chapter 1**

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, young, smart princess. Her names was Annabelle. She lived in a far away kingdom that her father ran. One day, she decided to take a nice walk down by the river. It was a beautiful day until suddenly, the sky turned gray and angry clouds started to move toward the kingdom, covering the land in darkness. She became worried about her safety so she started to walk back towards her castle. But, before she could reach her home, it began to rain and rain hard. The rain started to push against the princess and the waves from the river started to rise up over the riverbank. It made young Annabelle worry because, no matter how book smart she was, she never learned how to swim! But, the only way back to the kingdom was along the riverbank. The waves crashed against her legs as she struggled to get up towards her home. Suddenly, she stepped on a small stone that was so slippery, it made her lose her balance. She started to fall towards the raging waters and feared for the worst until a strong hand grabbed hold of her wrist. Before she knew it, she was being held tightly in a pair of strong arms. She looked up into the face of her hero and noticed it was none other than the prince from a land far away whom she had only heard about by word of mouth from merchants who have been so brave as to travel far enough to hear it from another merchant for the area. And even though certain stories have changed about his heroism, one fact had remained the same; his striking appearance. Legend had not lied either for the man whom was holding her safely had the face of a god. He smiled sweetly at her and offered to walk her the rest of the way home. It was the first time she had ever been offered so of course she accepted. Along the way home she felt a feeling she had never felt before. It was a feeling of butterflies thrashing about in her stomach. She didn't know if she liked it or if she should fear this feeling. But, he walked her home and eventually, the two fell in love and got married. They lived in a new castle and ruled a new land where love and peace prospered. And they all lived happily ever after. The end." The teenage girl smiled to the small child laying in the bed she was sitting on. "Now, I've read the story, go to sleep."

The child whined for another story but the teen shook her head, "No more, go to sleep Anna. We have a big day tomorrow and you need your rest. Besides, I don't want to hear any whining tomorrow because someone didn't get enough sleep." The child let out a sigh of frustration but obliged. The teen tucked Anna in, kissed her lightly on the forehead and walked out of the door, shutting it with a small click.

The blonde haired teen kept walking down the long hallway towards the steps. Once reaching the steps, she climbed down and entered the dining room where many of the older family members were seated. The teen could hear that they were having a heated conversation about tomorrows events;

"I just don't think it's right, sending those poor children off to a distant country just because they're different." an elderly woman said.

"I'm not sending them because they're different. I'm sending them because of tradition. You of all people should know about tradition, ma." A middle aged woman stated.

"Well, I wouldn't know a thing about this kind of tradition if you could even call it one. I mean, sending the children thousands of miles away to meet a child that's just going to die mere days later? How cruel can you be?"

"It's called respect, grandma." The teen jumped in. "And to be perfectly honest, I think it's a good thing we're meeting this person. Even if they are going to die soon, it would be a good thing to meet the head of our family."

"**I **am the head of this family." The elderly woman stated.

"No, you're the head of the Quinn family. Not the Sohma family that us kids really belong in." the teen spoke boldly.

"Jessica!" The middle aged woman shouted. "Don't talk to your grandmother like that!"

"Well, I'm just speaking my mind like a certain someone in this room taught me to do a long time ago before they knew I was so different. Now, they want me to just shut my mouth and stay locked away behind closed doors." Jessica confessed.

"I'm sorry if you feel that way," the woman said. Meanwhile, Jessica's grandmother had left and gone to the kitchen to make herself tea. "You know that I love you but it's just that, well,"

"That I'm a freak. I know mom, just say it. I've come to terms with it."

"You're not a freak!"

"Yes she is!" Her grandmother shouted from the kitchen. Jessica couldn't help but smirk that is, until her grandmother came back into the dining room to finish what she was saying, "Any girl that turns into a dog when hugged by a man is a freak. A certifiable freak."

"Thanks grandma." Jessica said with unintentional thick sarcasm.

"And the friend of yours," Her grandmother continued, "a perfect pair of freaks. Matched from the start. Only she turns into a rabbit. What is wrong with you children?"

"I have no clue grandma," Jessica said while sitting down at the table in front of papers she intended to go threw before she left in the morning. "It's usually a lot to deal with what you're brought up around. Who was my main caretaker while you were in the hospital mom?" Jessica smirked with evil intentions.

Her grandmother had heard enough, "Well, look at the time! It's quiet late. Judith, I'll be off to bed now. Wake me in time to say goodbye to the little freaks, I mean, children." She smirked herself and went up to her bedroom.

Judith, Jessica's mother, glared at her daughter as she sifted threw the papers in front of her, "Jessica, why do you have to be so snide with your grandmother? You know she can't help it." Suddenly, Jessica sneezed.

"Oh, sorry mom," she said while gently covering her nose, "I'm allergic to bullshit." Her mother glared at her once more,

"You know that once your plane lands tomorrow, you won't be allowed to talk like that anymore."

"Like what? A teenager?"

"No, like a rude little brat."

"Brat? Are you kidding me? I'm far from it!" Judith stood from the table and placed a motherly hand on her daughters shoulder,

"You're closer to it than you realize, dear. Now, it really is quite late. I'm going to bed as well. Please don't stay up too late." And on that, she went upstairs to rest.

Early the next morning, Jessica was awoken by tiny feet jumping up and down on her bed. She struggled to open her eyes but when she did, she saw young Annabelle jumping for joy.

"Well, good morning to you too, Anna." Anna stopped jumping immediately and looked at Jessica.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry, I'm just so excited! We're goin' on a trip!" Annabelle fell to her knees and crawled up to Jessica's face.

"I know. Now why don't you go downstairs and wait for me to come down in a minute. I'll make your favorite breakfast." Annabelle gasped with surprise,

"Really?!"

"Yes, but after I get dressed. Now go downstairs. I'll be there soon." Anna screamed with glee and ran downstairs like she was told. Jessica slowly got out of bed and walked to her dresser. Since it was an abnormal day Jessica, she felt like it would be a good excuse to get nicely dressed.

10 minutes later, Jessica came downstairs to begin breakfast. But, as she entered the kitchen, she realized that her services were not needed.

"Mom, you didn't have to make breakfast. I promised Anna that I'd make her favorite for her." Her mother just smiled and said,

"Anything for my babies." Jessica smiled and realized that she was going to miss her mother more than she thought. "Why are you wearing that dress?"

"I kind of want to make a good first impression." Jessica replied, opening the refrigerator and pulling out the orange juice.

"Well that's very nice of you and very proper. I'm proud of you." Judith said sincerely.

"Thanks mom." Jess smiled once more before taking a sip of her juice.

"So, you're excited to see Akira again, aren't you?" Jessica was silent for a second.

"Why would you say that?" she responded, staring at a spot on the ground.

"Well, you two have a very, er, colorful past. At least I think that's what it is."

"You act as if you know everything about us!" Jessica said, getting defensive.

"Oh, by all means I don't! In fact all I know is that you two were close when here."

"Yeah, well, my relationship is not public domain. I don't want to talk about it." An invisible wall was now brought up between the two women.

Jess retreated to the dining room and was bombarded with hugs from not only Annabelle but also her best friend, Alyssa. Jess hugged them both and sat down at the table.

After breakfast, the group gathered their bags and headed toward the airport. It was finally time to say their goodbyes and, despite her defensive reaction, Jessica still knew she was going to miss her mother. She hugged her tight and said a final tearful goodbye.

And finally, after a grueling 18 hours of bickering, hair pulling, naps and unfortunate waves of nausea, the group landed in Japan, the home of the head of their family. Once off the plane with their bags collected, Jessica continued her never ending job of wrangling the young children.

A duo constantly gave her trouble, Mika and Elise. They were brother and sister. Mika, age 11 was very protective of Elise because she was only 4 and constantly got into trouble. But, together, they were a handful with Mika's sense of independence and Elise's curiosity. The second the group got their bags, Elise took off followed by Mika.

Jessica looked at Alyssa and said, "Please, watch everyone."

"No problem." Alyssa smiled.

Jessica took off after the duo. She finally caught Elise by the wrist but neglected to notice that she did so between to sets of legs. She lightly pulled Elise over towards her and looked up to the face of the gentlemen that she so rudely bumped into.

"I'm so sorry. I just couldn't lose her. She has a tendency of running off." She said to one of the sharply dressed men. His hair covered one of his eyes,

"It's alright," he opened a manila folder, looked down than suddenly back at her, "Jessica." Jessica was shocked to say the least; this strange man knew her name and probably had a whole folder about her. As if he could read her mind, the man spoke again, "My name is Hatori. Hatori Sohma. And this here," he gestured to the man to left, "is Shigure Sohma. You and," he opened the folder once more, "Alyssa will be living at his home." Jessica looked up at Shigure and suddenly, all else was lost. _She felt a feeling she had never felt before. It was a feeling of butterflies thrashing about in her stomach. She didn't know if she liked it or if she should fear this feeling. _

The group Alyssa was watching came up behind her and snapped her out of her slight trance. Alyssa placed a hand on Jess' shoulder and asked,

"Is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah. Everything's fine. This is Hatori and Shigure, they are members of the Sohma family as well. We're going with them."

"Okay." Alyssa said and turned to the group. "Everybody ready?" A loud roar of excitement rose from the crowd of mostly young children.

Once outside, the group was split in 2. Jessica grabbed a list from her bag and looked out over the groups. She began a roll call;

"Rat?" An 8 year old with short, spiked gray haired, named Greg raised his hand.

"Ox?" 12 year Thomas with jet black hair raised his hand.

"Boar?" 7 year old Kami twirled around, her red hair swinging with her.

"Dragon?" Hatori perked up and surveyed the crowd as well. Small and docile, 3 year old Mae walked up to Jessica and clung to her skirt, her glasses sliding down her small nose.

"Snake?" Silver haired Margo waved at Jessica. She was 14.

"Tiger?" Snowy white hair and big blue eyes peered over the crowd. 16 year old Walter hated roll call.

"Sheep?" A mop of curly black hair and big watery eyes looked at Jessica. That was typical 15 year old Adam.

"Monkey?" Jessica said playfully. Annabelle jumped up and down.

"Horse?" Elise looked up at Jess.

"Rooster?" Mika followed his sisters lead.

"Rabbit?" Alyssa smiled.

"Okay, we're all here." Jess said and looked at Hatori. She couldn't bare to look at Shigure in fear that her insides would turn to mush again.

"Are you sure?" Hatori asked. "No cat?" The group got quiet and many looked solemn. Softly, Jessica spoke,

"Ginny isn't with us anymore. She couldn't take the pressure of being, well, like us. On top of that, she wasn't even considered a member of the zodiac so she decided it was better to not live a life compared to living the life she was forced to live." Hatori looked taken aback.

"I-I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's alright, it's just, we really loved her." Jessica said. Alyssa walked over and nudged Jessica with her elbow,

"Some people loved her more than other and in different ways than the rest of us."

"Shut up!" Jessica said, looking at Alyssa with slight tears in her eyes.

"S-sorry. I didn't mean it to be mean. It's just, you know it's true."

"What are you talking about?" Shigure asked.

"I-I-it's a conversation for another day." Jessica stammered.

The groups finally loaded into 2 separate cars; a minivan for the group of young children going to live in the main house and a regular car, driven by Shigure going to his home. For the first time in a long time, Jessica offered the front passenger seat to Alyssa.

When they reached his home, Shigure showed them around and to their rooms.

It was late so it he advised that they go to sleep, "Oh and I've left your school uniforms on your beds." Alyssa smiled but Jessica was confused.

"I already graduated school. And I wasn't aware we were staying long enough to go to school."

"Yes well, it seems that Akira wants you all here longer than he first stated. Now, about you going to school, I say you don't have to but tomorrow, you'll have to go and talk with Akira about not attending."

That sent Jessica's nerves into high alert; she'd have to meet with Akira, the man she had had such a "colorful relationship" with? As she went to bed that night, it was hard for Jessica to sleep. The feeling came back again, the feeling she despised so much. The butterflies and pain . She didn't know if she should be excited or terrified to see the man she loved so much yet feared with such a passion.

Whatever she felt, she knew she had to face him. If only the morning could wait.

**END**

**A.N.// So, chapter one is done. I'm picturing that I can get at least up to chapter 5 before I have to go back to school and completely forget about this until spring break or better yet, summer break. I hope to soon.**

**-Jessi**


	2. Misunderstood

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

**A.N./ Mmkay chapter 2! Not much to say. I'm actually starting this right after I posted Chapter 1. I was serious about my 5 chapter deadline!**

**Chapter 2**

The morning sun shone into her new bedroom window. The blinds were parted just right to let in even sun and have it bounce onto her face. Jessica tossed and turned, trying to ignore the sun. It was evident she wasn't going to be allowed to sleep a bit late especially when she heard a knock on her door.

The door opened slowly and her best friend, Alyssa walked in.

"Morning." Alyssa said, smiling. Jessica rolled over to face her and tried not to laugh; Alyssa was wearing a blue school uniform that was just a tad too short in the skirt.

"Nice skirt." Jess said and rolled over. Alyssa walked over to the bed and began to shake Jess,

"Get up. Remember what Shigure said? You have to go despite the fact you graduated." Just then, a warm wave flooded Jessica's stomach; Shigure, the strikingly handsome man in the suit whose house they were currently in. Slowly, Jessica got out of bed as Alyssa looked stunned, "Wow, I only had to ask you once? What's up? Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, it's just that I thought I might as well get up and get ready. It's not like I'm going to get anything done if I stay in bed an extra 20 minutes." Alyssa looked at Jess skeptically; it wasn't like her friend to just willing get out of a nice warm bed to 'get things done'. And then it hit her,

"Oh my goodness! You like Shigure!" Jessica stopped dead in her tracks and turned towards her door making sure it was closed. Jess walked up to Alyssa and looked her dead in the eye,

"Promise not to tell?" Jessica pleaded.

"NO WAY! YOU REALLY DO!" Alyssa exclaimed.

"Shush!" Jess said, frantically trying to silence her friend. After all, her new crush did live in this house and she was pretty sure that the walls were pretty much paper thin. Jess went over to her dresser and pulled out the freshly pressed uniform.

"So, when are you going to tell him?"

"Tell who what?" Jessica asked, changing into the uniform.

"You know," Alyssa said. Even though Jess had her back turned to her, she knew that Alyssa had a smirk on her face.

"Stop it." Jessica said, pulling on her socks.

"If you don't tell him, then I will."

"If you tell him, I tell Akira about last summer." Alyssa was instantly silenced. Jess merely continued to pull her hair into a ponytail. She straightened out her skirt and looked into the mirror; this uniform would simply not do.

"Y-y-you wouldn't dare, would you?" Jessica turned around.

"Just keep your mouth shut and I won't have to say a thing either." Jessica smiled, slightly manically. Suddenly, Alyssa began to snicker. She covered her mouth and did her best not to laugh. "It's that bad, isn't it?" Jessica asked, completely losing the upper hand.

"It's terrible." Alyssa replied. Nervousness shot up Jessica's spine,

"I can't go to school like this! They would expel me on my first day!"

"You know who I have to go get about this."

"No no no! Please don't! I don't want him to see me like this!" Alyssa couldn't help but to laugh,

"He's the only one who can help in this situation. Besides, if he see's you like this, who knows? He might make the first move." Alyssa smirked.

"Stop it!" Jessica said, her face flushing. Alyssa, still smiling, left the room. There was nothing Jessica could do about this, the uniform just didn't fit at all and there was no way it be able to pass as a uniform for her. She sat on her bed with her back against the wall just waiting for Shigure to come and knock on her door.

She pulled her knees into her chest; it wasn't that she was embarrassed that Shigure would see her like this, she could live with that, it was the fact that she was scared she would get in trouble with Akira for not going to school. Akira's word was law and if he had said that she had to go, than it was final, unless, which nearly never happened, Akira said otherwise.

The door slid open slowly as if to give her a moment of notice that someone was entering. She looked up from her thought and saw Shigure in a kimono instead of a suit. He entered slowly and looked at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Trying to muster all the strength she had to speak, she shakily replied,

"I-I-it doesn't fit." He merely smiled and said,

"Let me see." So, she complied and stood in front of him. She couldn't judge if the expression he was giving her was shock or a secret pleasure; the top was too short in the sense that it showed off her midriff and the fact that skirt was supposed to be mid thigh but was actually nearly half an inch from exposing her bottom didn't help either.

"Th-that just won't do." He said finally after soaking in her predicament. "You certainly can't go to school in that."

And as if he had told her that her kitten had just died, she began to well up with tears. She quickly brought her hands up to her eyes to cover her shame because the last thing she needed was to let him see her cry. She turned away quickly, giving Shigure another moment to take a look at the skirt, or lack thereof. She couldn't help but cry. He grasped her shoulder lightly,

"It's okay. It's just a uniform. We can get you another one!"

"It's not that!" She sobbed. Finally she turned to look at him.

"What is it? What could be so terrible that would make you so hysterical?" Wiping her eyes with her hand, she replied,

"I'm going to get in trouble! If I don't go, Akira will find out and I will be punished for disobeying his orders!" Shigure was taken aback; he knew that the American family had had a reputation for being a bit strict, but he was completely unaware of the severity until now.

"Are you saying that if you miss just one day of school, you will be punished?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't think you should worry yourself too much. I will make a phone call to the main house and I promise you, you will not be punished for something like this. It was completely out of your control." Shigure smiled. Jess sniffled, doing her best to smile.

"But what about today?"

"Well, I guess I'll just have to teach you something today." He smiled widely. "Now, you should change into your regular clothes as I go make that phone call." He patted her lightly on the head then walked out of her room, sliding the door shut quietly.

Jessica sniffled once more and began to pull off the uniform; she couldn't believe that she broke down like that. And she knew that Shigure would probably tell Hatori about her break down and hence word would get back to Akira that she had blabbed about how harsh he is. And now, it was official that she would be punished. Akira would tell everyone that it was because of school but she knew already that it was because she had talked.

She started to climb down the stairs quietly and stopped when she heard her name come up in conversation,

"Well, Jess has never been one to make excuses. She must have a legitimate reason for not being able to go today." Alyssa said.

"I hope she does. Our family doesn't take kindly to insubordinates." Said a strange, male voice.

"You should know." Retorted a cold, also male voice.

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" The first voice shouted while slamming something onto the table.

"It means that you of all people would know a thing or two about insubordination." It was quiet for a second until the first male spoke again,

"Whatever, I'm just saying, that if she gets in trouble, she can't stay because the last thing we need is people from the main house constantly stopping by." Jessica sat down on the steps and listened with a hurt heart.

"It's not your say who can and who can't stay here. But, he does make a point. If people from the main house started coming out here more often because someone was being disobedient, then the most logical thing would be to move that person out of this house to keep the sanity and privacy of everyone else who can be good." The second male said.

Tears once again welled up in Jessica's eyes. Never has someone ever judged her so quickly and so openly as well. All she wanted was to make friends and try to live a normal life. Neither of which would be easy when you were born like her.

"We better get going if we don't want to be late." Said the second male voice. The group stood up and headed towards the front door. But, to do so, they had to pass the stairs where Jessica was sitting, hands on her knees, tears in her eyes. Alyssa looked down, embarrassed now that she knew her friend was listening. The silver haired boy covered his mouth to try and hide his gasping mouth.

The group awkwardly walked away towards the front door as Jessica just stared them down. Shortly, Shigure came into the room to go up the stairs to go get Jessica. He started to climb the stairs when he looked up and saw her.

"Oh!" He said, "I was just coming to get you." He sat next to her. "Hatori is going to tell Akira about the uniform and he'll call back later to tell me what he said. Are you okay?" He asked finally. Jess hung her head low,

"I never cry like this. I don't know what's going on, I really don't. I guess I'm just so frustrated and it gets bottled up and spills out in situations that aren't that big of a deal. Like today, I freaked out over a uniform. It's not like me. I'm usually so calm, collected. Hell, I'm usually the one in charge, the one everyone looks to for advice. And now here I am, crying over nothing." Shigure grabbed her hand.

"Shush. It's not all bad. So what if you are having an emotional spot. Who doesn't? It happens to everyone. And from what it sounds like, you have to be strong for others so why can't you have your moments to break down?" Jess wiped away more tears and finally looked him in the eye. It was a sudden spark that turned her wet eyes into something that sparkled. The distance between them shrank. His lips were so close to hers when suddenly the phone rang. Slowly, as if not wanting to leave, Shigure stood up and went to answer the phone.

Jessica looked at her hand where Shigure's once was. She smiled when she recalled the smell of his cologne as it had danced around her like a veil that protected her from the outside evils. Wait a second. What was she even thinking? This man was ten years her senior yet all she could think about was how badly she wanted to share a kiss and more with him. Thankfully breaking her train of thought before it turned from PG into something reaching the X rating, Shigure came back into the room.

"That was Hatori."

"Oh? What did he say?" Shigure sighed deeply.

"You're getting picked up in the morning and brought to the main house. Akira wants to have a meeting with you."

And just like that, her pleasant thoughts of smiles and possible intimacy were chased out with thoughts of fear, isolation and despair.

There was no way she would make it out of her meeting with the same optimism as she would go in with. But what could she do to protect herself?

**END**

**A.N./ Yay! Finally, the second chapter of this fic! I kinda gave up ever so slightly on the Harry Potter story. Just for now. Well, hopefully I'll update this one again soon.**


	3. Broken Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

**A.N/ Hehe, so I didn't finish those five chapters. But on the plus side, I didn't go back to school! Actually, they wouldn't take me back. Hehe. Ugh, I'm a loser. So anyways, here's the next chapter.**

**Chapter 3**

Jessica sat on the edge of her bed, dressed and as stoic as possible even with her insides shaking uncontrollably. She looked down at her hands and, trying to control the shaking, she began to twist and pull on the fabric of her dress. It was never her really her style to be so dressed up with her hair down and straightened, a touch of make up on her face and a dress too.

The sun was rising slower than usual for her. All she wanted was this day to be over as soon as possible. She knew that it wasn't going to be easy seeing the Akira, the head of the family again especially after having such a colorful, for lack of a better term, history. It wasn't all bad, but it certainly wasn't all good.

Jessica looked at the clock; 7:15 am. She let out a slow, deep breath and stood up; the car would be there for her in 15 minutes. She headed downstairs towards the dining room. She wasn't really hungry but she just wanted to try and keep her spirits up around everyone else. She sat down next to her best friend Alyssa who was more than excited to see her in a dress.

"You look so pretty! What's the special occasion?" She gleamed. Jessica just shrugged, finding that her words were caught in her throat from nerves. The others were all in a hub walking to and from the kitchen. Kyo sat silently at the table, glaring at Jess who only kept her head down in silence.

Frustrated the he couldn't get a reaction or even acknowledgement from her, Kyo slammed his fist down on the table. The whole house become still. Jessica looked up at him with a pleading look as if to say, "You of all people should know what I am about to go through." Kyo lowered his head, abashed and said,

"We're out of milk." Checking the clock on the wall, Jessica rose and headed for the front door. As she began to pull on shoes, Shigure came into the entrance hall.

"Hey." He said. Jess only continued to fuss with her shoes. "What's wrong?" She ignored him. "Don't ignore me." She did anyways. "Look, I know that Akito can be real tough with us but Akira can't be as bad."

"You don't know him." She said simply, her back turned to him.

"Yeah well, do you know the story behind Hatori's eye?" He protested.

"Yeah well, do you know the reason Ginny's dead?" She said in a raised tone, clearly not want to play the, "Whose Life Sucks More" contest.

"Whose Ginny?" Shigure asked. Jess stiffened.

"No one. That's a story for a different time." She opened the front door.

"But."

"NO!" She slammed the door shut behind her. She headed to the black car and got into it. Shigure heard the car door slam as well and the rev of the engine as it drove off.

It wasn't like her to get snippy like she just did, especially not at people she cared for like Shigure but Ginny was a wound she wasn't really in the mood to reopen. Just thinking about Ginny made Jessica wring her hands in nervousness, a small layer of sweat building on her skin. She did her best to control her breathing and remain as "normal" as she could.

Her breathing was the last thing on her mind as she looked up threw the windshield; the main house entrance was right in front of them. The chauffeur gave her a small piece of paper and urged her to get out of the car. She found it hard to get out of the car, feeling like she had lost the use of her legs. As soon as she shut the car door, it started to back up as if staying a moment longer would curse the chauffeur like her.

Even though her entire being was telling her otherwise, Jessica stepped forward and opened the gates to the main house. She looked at the piece of paper, which was actually a crudely draw map, and began to walk. It was a calm, serene place yet she could feel a negative energy flowing through it.

Slowly but surely she found her way to the star on the map; the main house. She didn't know what to do; was she supposed to knock? The doors were paper thin and slid open like at Shigure's home. She stepped up to the door and just as she was about to awkwardly knock, the door slid open. She jumped back nervously, heart racing and looked up at the man standing in the door way.

"Jessica?" The man said quietly. In a moment of pure fear, Jessica dropped to the ground to a very low bow. Shocked, the man jumped off the porch and down in front of her. He knelt down and started to pry her from the floor, "Please," he said, slightly embarrassed from how formal Jessica was being. "it's alright. You know me, you don't have to be so formal with me."

Jessica looked up from the ground and into his face. "I-I-I'm sorry Hatori. I'm just so nervous." She stood up and brushed herself off. He helped her up into the house. She slipped out of her shoes and began to walk down the halls with Hatori. There was silence between them as Jessica tried to calm her thoughts.

Hatori stopped suddenly at a door and looked at her, "Akira is inside here with Akito. I'm going to go in and tell them that you're here. Will you be okay here by yourself?" Jess just nodded slowly, looking down at her hands. Hatori slid open the door and entered, shutting the door behind him carefully.

Suddenly, a group of women started walking toward her. She looked into the center of the group and her eyes couldn't help but widen; there was a small child, no more than 3. He looked up at her and stopped short. He burst through the crowd to inspect Jessica. She held her skirt close to her legs as the little black haired boy looked up to her. He threw his hands up in the air, a sign that he wanted to be picked up. One of the servants rushed over to pull him away but Jessica picked him up anyway, feeling something different about this boy.

The servants gasped and whispered to each other in astonishment. The little boy looked at Jessica confused as if something else was supposed to happen, but began to smile uncontrollably. Jessica looked into his eyes and felt a surge of emotions. She felt fear that his golden eyes knew more than they would speak, sorrow for the fact that these eyes were reminiscent of someone she lost, and love for the pure feelings that he held so closely in his heart because he knew nothing of the evils of this world. The little boy finally spoke,

"My name is Troy and I am dis many years old," he held up three fingers. Jessica was surprised that he spoke English. "And when my mommy picks me up, I turn into a kitty cat." A twinge of pain struck Jessica's heart; so he was the reincarnation of the cat since Ginny was gone. "What's your name?" he asked innocently.

"Jessica." She couldn't help but smile at his innocence, "And sometimes when my daddy would pick me up, I would turn into a puppy." The boy gasped with excitement,

"Really? So I'm not alone?" Jessica couldn't help but hug Troy tightly. She said quietly,

"You'll never be alone, I promise."

The door slid open and Jessica turned around. Hatori stepped out, sliding the door closed behind him.

"So I see you met Troy," Jess looked down, as if she was doing something wrong. Hatori took Troy from her arms and said, "You should go in there now. You'll see Troy again soon." Troy waved "goodbye" to her as she gulped hard but reluctantly opened the door.

* * *

Alyssa sat down at the Kotatsu with one of her books, quietly enjoying the silence. Shigure came into the room with a cup of tea and sat across from her, obviously avoiding work. He sat silently until he couldn't stand the silence,

"Alyssaaaaa?" He slightly whined.

"Yes?" She looked up, smiling.

"Why aren't you outside like Yuki and Tohru? Or on a walk like Kyo?"

"Well," she began, putting down her book, "I like the outdoors but I also like to read too. And since I want to be right here when Jessica comes home too." Shigure furrowed his brow,

"Why do you wanna be here when she gets here?" He was still a little frustrated how Jessica acted towards him earlier that morning, slamming the door in his face.

"It's because I care about her and I want her to know that no matter what happens, I'll always be here, waiting for her." Alyssa smiled. Suddenly, with thoughts still unanswered, Shigure asked,

"Whose Ginny and why is Jessica so upset about her?"

Alyssa sat up straight, alarmed. She knew the whole story behind Ginny but she kept forgetting that people not inside the family did not. She felt a shiver run down her spine as the memories began to resurface. Shigure looked puzzled,

"Is everything okay?" Alyssa felt a cool layer of sweat collecting on her skin. She swallowed hard,

"Yeah. Everything's fine." She managed a smile, back still straight as a pin, hands in her lap.

"What's really wrong?" Shigure asked, knowing that fake look of confidence she was presenting. Alyssa sighed, letting her shoulders slump forward and her face to fall. Taking a deep breath she looked back up to Shigure,

"Ginny killed herself because of Jessica."

* * *

Jessica entered the room and kept her eyes down towards the ground. She wasn't scared of making eye contact with Akira, she was just scared of what was going to be before her; a man or the monster. She crossed to the middle of the large, dimly lit room, head hung low and waited for any kind of instruction.

"Do you know why you're here?" A soft voice called. She felt a twinge of relief knowing that Akira wasn't flared with anger. Still nervous, she took in a shaky breath and replied,

"I don't think I should be going to school like everyone else is." It felt as if the air was shifting to frigid.

"What makes you so special?"

"Nothing, it's just that I'm older than everyone. I finished high school already. Wouldn't it be kind of redundant for me to sit in a classroom and go through lectures and listen to things I already know?" Jess shut her mouth, realizing how outspoken she was being. She heard shifting from the shadows and Akira appeared, looking more thin and sicklier than ever. Jessica felt a pain in her heart at how much he had deteriorated. She did care for him deeply. In fact, at one time she could have said that she loved Akira. But because of Ginny, things had changed and they were never going to be the same.

"You're not as smart as you think you are. You weren't even smart enough to see how dangerous Ginny was to our relationship."

"She was not dangerous. She helped it."

"How did she help it? She tore us apart!" Akira said, getting slightly frantic.

"That's how she helped us." Jessica lowered her eyes to the floor, "I realized how awful our relationship was so I let go. I found happiness with Ginny and you couldn't handle that I was finally happy and it didn't involve you. You always gave me a false sense of happiness and security. The second I found a way to smile that didn't involve you, you would take it away from me. You're just selfish. I don't need -" She was cut off by a vicious shove that forced her to stumble back and fall to the ground.

Akira's eyes turned slate gray, a sign that he was gone. A wicked smirk came about his face as he finally spoke,

"How about this; if you survive your punishment for speaking out, I will not only let you go, but you don't have to go to school." Jessica gulped, knowing full well that she wasn't as strong as she used to be and that her punishment was going to take more than strength of mind to survive.

* * *

"About 2 years ago, Ginny moved next door to Jessica. This was good because Jess didn't have too many friends. Akira kept her as like his pet and didn't like her associating too much with other people. He was afraid they were going to 'taint' her. Jessica knew that Ginny was the cat because she had over heard their mothers talking about what it's like to raise children of the zodiac.

"One day, Jess took it upon herself to go next door and make Ginny feel welcome. When she went upstairs to Ginny's room, she heard her crying. She went in and saw that Ginny had gotten beat up. When Jess asked who did it to her, Ginny told her that it was Akira. That he took the liberty to deal out the first of many blows that she was going to get because she was the family's cat. From that moment on, Jessica lost all respect for Akira as our leader and stopped coming to family functions like New Years.

"Jess started to grow closer to Ginny because she felt that Ginny was the only person she could fully trust. They grew so close that they were always seen together. One would always sleep over the other persons house. It was the first time in a long time I had seen Jessica really smile. And then, just one day, it happened." Alyssa said.

"What happened?" Shigure said, more intrigued than ever.

"They were hanging out one day and laughing and suddenly, Ginny kissed her." Shigure looked a mix between confused and turned on.

"Ginny kissed her?" he smirked.

"Don't get me wrong, Jess kissed back. It's hard to be a member of the zodiac but it's twice as hard being a zodiac member that's gay. Jess always hid that she liked girls only because she was scared of what everyone else would do to her. She was already labeled a freak, she didn't need something else to be made fun of.

"But with Ginny, she just let the walls around her heart come down and let the love that she had, shine through. Jess was not only her happiest but also the most beautiful when her and Ginny were together. She just glowed."

"What happened? What went wrong?" Shigure asked. Alyssa took a sip of her tea, and tried to keep her composure; this part of the story was always the hardest to tell.

"Akira got to Ginny."

* * *

She laid on the floor, gasping for air; this was worse than she remembered. She gripped on to her stomach where the last kick had landed. As she curled into herself, Akira slowly walked up to her, as if sizing up his prey.

"Do you give up yet?" He asked, smirking. Her nose was bleeding and all she felt was pain. She didn't want shame to be coupled with that. She shook her head 'no' much to Akira's dislike. He hung his head and said, "You know I don't want to have to hurt you but when you disobey me," he kicked her once more but this time in her face, splitting open her lip, "I just have to teach you that I," another hard kick, this time forcing her eye to swell up, "am not to be disobeyed. You MUST," a kick to the stomach, since her hands were over her face, "listen to me. If you DON'T" another kick, "you will NEVER," kick, "survive!"

Tears were painfully streaming out of her eyes, hot and fast. She rolled onto her back, not knowing how much more she could handle. Without even so much as a word, Akira struck again; a swift yet powerful kick to the side of the head, rendering her unconscious.

A warm breeze crossed her skin as the warming sunlight pounded against her eyes. The waves crashed against the shore and seagulls squawked as they flew overhead. Something soft brushed up against her arm, making her open her eyes and look down; sweet, sun kissed skin and neon green nail polish. Jess smiled tenderly as she followed the freckled skin up to the forearm, the bicep, the shoulder, the neck and finally to the face. Her heart pounded in her throat as she saw the cherry lips and emerald green eyes gazing up towards the skin. Before she could think of anything else, Jess' mouth opened,

"How many times do I have to tell you to not stare at the sun? I don't want you to damage those gorgeous eye, Ginny."

Ginny smiled and looked over at her,

"How am I supposed to capture the beauty of the sky if I don't open my eyes?" Jess smiled and gave in,

"Just don't stare too long, okay?" Ginny grasped onto her hand and a surge of warmth and love ran up her arm. It ran into her face and forced a smile to her lips. It made her blood turn hot with love and desire. She had never been great with words but she felt that only one thing could explain her feelings at that exact moment,

"I love you." Jess said quietly. All went cold and dark and the pain was back again. There were no more kicks and no more punches. She was laying down on a cot in a dark room, much smaller than the original room. Sitting by her side was a servant she had seen earlier with Troy. The servant looked at her distastefully and said,

"Akira said that when you wake up you can go home. You passed your test. You can do as you please." Jess nodded weakly and slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed, fighting back tears. It had been a while since she had dreamt of Ginny. She headed toward the door with immense amounts of pain in every step. She walked out to the main hall and bent down to pick up her shoes. With a great heave she got them on and started her walk out of the main house and towards the gate.

* * *

"One day, Akira invited Ginny over to the main house for lunch. Jess kissed her goodbye and told her to be safe. Time went by and Ginny never came home. Jess was worried and she started to get this sick feeling in her stomach that something was wrong. It had been over eight months since they started to date and over a year since Jessica had slept by herself. But that night, that is exactly what she had to do, sleep alone. The whole night she felt anxious and worried and she knew there was nothing she could do about it.

"Two days later, Ginny came home. She looked worn out with vacancy in her eyes. She didn't speak much to Jessica. She pulled away when Jess touched her and ignored her when she came into a room or called her. Apparently Akira had drilled into her mind that the one's she loved most would abandon her and that they never loved her to begin with. So she began to shut out the world and shut down her heart. Once her heart was closed off, Ginny felt nothing but pain. She was unable to let Jess love her. When Ginny would no longer accept her love, it made her worry deeply; if the one she cared for most in life, was unable to accept her as she was and love her equally, than there was no one left in this world to care for. She too shut her heart down. But unlike Ginny, Jess' heart was not lost forever. It was about this time that we became good friends.

"Unfortunately, Ginny had shut down completely. On a rare moment, she invited Jess over to spend sometime together. Jess, eager to rekindle their love, came over immediately. Ginny didn't answer the door when she knocked so Jess just let herself in. She found Ginny laying down on her bed, blood soaking into her sheets. She had slit her wrists. Jess called for an ambulance but it was too late. Two days later, a letter came for her. It was from Ginny. She had written in the day she died. It talked about how she loved Jess but couldn't let Jess hurt her. It also spoke of how Akira told her about how evil people really are and how they can't be trusted. It was at that moment that Jess vowed never to speak to Akira civilly again. Because of Akira, Jess had lost the love of her life, the only one who made her smile her real smile." Alyssa placed her cup down on the table. Shigure was looking down at his lap, trying to hide emotion.

"I-I didn't know."

"Well, she doesn't like to broadcast these things. She's a private person. She also tries hard to keep a smile on her face to remind her to never close her heart again." Yuki, Tohru and Kyo came back into the house. They began to cook dinner as Shigure excused himself from the table.

* * *

Jess held her hands close to her body as she sat in the back seat of the car. She took a quick peek into the rear view mirror and was disgusted by what she saw; cuts, gashes, bruises. A fat lower lip split in half, a black eye so swollen, it was almost closed, her nose had finally stopped bleeding but it was also discolored. Suddenly, she looked out the window, remembering something from earlier. She spoke frantically,

"Stop the car!"

* * *

Alyssa sat quietly at the table that night, feeling the weight of the story still lingering in the room. Shigure too was unusually quiet. Kyo was complaining about how the still didn't have milk and how that was all he wanted with his dinner. Alyssa sighed and began to worry about how long it had been since Jessica was there.

"Why didn't someone buy any milk?" Kyo griped. Suddenly, Tohru gasped,

"Oh my goodness!" Alyssa looked behind; there stood her friend, battered and bloody. She stood up slowly and faced Jess. Without even giving it a second thought, Alyssa grabbed her friend and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Welcome home!" She said. Even though the hug itself hurt and so did the motion of moving her arms, Jess managed to hug back. Alyssa stepped back and asked, "What's that in your hand?" Jess looked down at the bag in her hand then back up and did her best to smile,

"I remember how Kyo was upset that there wasn't any milk this morning so on my way back, I picked up some!" Kyo stood up and walked towards her slowly, still a bit apprehensive and took the milk. Alyssa sat back down and had Jess sit with them. Trying hard not to be rude, Tohru asked,

"How was your day, Jessica?"

"Well that's a stupid question! Can't you see how her day went?" Kyo snapped.

"It was better than I could ever have imagined." Jess beamed. And even though her smile wasn't that good and every muscle in her body ached, she smiled differently than she had in a while. And that smile, Shigure guessed, was like the smile she would have when she was with Ginny. A smile that meant she was truly in love.

But who, he wondered, was she so in love with?

**END**

**A.N./ Geeze that took FOREVER but I wrote about 4 to 5 of these pages in one day so, yeah, it's okay. Hopefully I'll update again soon.**

**-Jessi**


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